Sweden deploys airport self-service tech

Automated entry gates are being installed at security checkpoints across the country.

Sweden’s state-owned airport operator Swedavia continues to develop self-service technology to make passenger flows smoother as it starts to install automated entry gates at security checkpoints across the country.

With automation and digitalisation high on airlines’ agenda, Swedavia says that the investment in self-service solutions is based on creating a faster, easier and smoother journey for passengers and “at the same time enhance their overall experience at Swedavia’s airports”.

The self-service technology also helps to reduce queues and optimise terminal space.

This week, it’s the turn of Stockholm Arlanda Airport to install automated entry gates in the main security checkpoint in Terminal 5. It follows Göteborg Landvetter Airport getting its first automated entry gate last week.

More will be placed at both airports later on and, during the year, the gates will also be rolled out at other Swedavia airports.

World’s finest
Swedavia, which operates and develops ten airports across Sweden, has already installed automated check-in machines and automated bag drops and proclaims that it “now has the most automated bag drops in the world”.

Passengers flying from Åre Östersund Airport in northern Sweden, for example, can drop off their skis in the automated bag drop. Automated check-in machines are also located at a number of hotels in Åre, which means passengers can print bag tags and fasten them to their baggage even before they get to the airport.

Combined with the possibility of early check-in, this makes the journey easier and passengers only need to drop off their bag when they get to the airport – making the trip home from the ski slopes smoother, “which is appreciated by both leisure travellers and conference groups”, Swedavia says.